Mail-box.



J. F. TAUBER..

MAIL BOX.

APPLICATION FILED rdm/9.1918.

'l ,286, l 4% Patented Nov. v26, 1918.

afa/mdf y JOSEPH rjgmuimnforLIDGERWOOD, NORTH DAKOTA.

M'ArLLBox Specification of LetterslPatent.

Patented Nov. 26,491 s.

Atipiic'tiqnniei May 9, isis. Serial No. 233,519.

To all whom it 'mari/-concern.`

Be it known that ...[,JD'SEP ,'TAUBER,

a citizen of thevUnitedA States,'residiiig at Lidgerweod, iny the county of Richlandand State of'North Dakota, have invented certain new and usefullmprovements in Mail- Boxes, of which thefollowing is a specific-ation. 1 .g i'

This invention relates to inail boxes and inore particularly to vrural delivery mail boxes, the primary object being to provide an apparatus whereby the inail box may be transported from the roadside to the door of the person to wlioin the inail is to be delvered.

One of the principal objects of the invention is to provide a traveling mail box supported on a run-way formed bysupporting wires stretched from the dwellingr to a convenient point at the roadside and associated with actuating means by which the owner can cause the mail box to be transported from the door way to the roadside for receiving the mail from the carrier after which the actuating means may be operated for returning the box to a point within convvenient reach of the owner of the dwelling Figure 1 is a perspective view of the iiivention mounted in position for use.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken through a portion of the device as indicated by the line of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged elevation of a poi'- tion of the device, and

Fig. L1 is a section taken on the line 4-.4 of Fig. 1.

Referring to' the drawings, wherein like numerals of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the upright standard 1 may indicate either a post at the side of the dwelling or the side of a doorway in the zwelling. The post 2 niay'be mounted at the roadside or at any point atsome distance from the dwelling to deliver the mail.

'Intervening posts o are mounted between the dwelling and the end post 2 and the usual 'telegraph poles or telephone wire supporting poles niay be utilized :for this pui'- pose if convenient.

A pair of supporting wires t are attached to the posts 1 and 2 and are laterally spaced apart to forni a runway or track way for supporting the mail box during its travel from one post to the other. T he posts 1 and 2 are cach provided with a laterally projecting arm 5 to which the ends of the wires 1 are fastened, so that the wires are held in properly spaced relation. 'lo support the intervening portions of the wires fl each post 3 is provided willi a bracket which consists of the upstanding arms (3 havingl their ends bent toward each other to provide the alignlarly disposed ends 7 the terminals of which are provided with sleeves S through which the wires llare extended. .l`he sleeves should be of relatively thin metal so that noty unich of an obstruction will occur at'. the points where the brackets are attached to the wires. The horizontal bar t) connects the portion of each bracket and t'roni this/.bar the lugs 1() depend for supportingr a roller l1. second stronger roller l'.) has its ends liournaled in the. upright arms (3 and these rollers are tor the. purpose of supporting the dit-aw cable. and preventingy t'rict'ional contact with portions of the bracket vwhen the cable is in; operation. x

In this manner. the. wires which forni tthe runway, are properly supported ttov extendt for any desired distance and the inail box ltl is adapted to travel on the runway troni one. end to the other thereof. The inail box is preferably constructed of metal and may be of any desired shape. Vllach side of t/"e inail box, has depending therefrom, a flan re lst and these flanges ai'c disposed at the saine angle as the angle of the portions 7 of the bracket. Supporting wheels 15 are attached to the flanges 14 near the ends of' the latter so that four wheels are provided for the mail box, and since these aie disposed beneath the flanges, it will be readily apparent that snowl and hail will not gain' access to the wheels and consequently cannot hinder operation of the device during bad weather.

Pivot pins 16 are employed to hold the wheels connected to the ianges and' each wheel is provided with a deep annular groove, the groove preferably being three or four inches deep to prevent accidental displacement of the mail box from the runway. Furthermore, the Weight of the mail box above the runway causes the wheels to press against the wires 4 and have a tendency to force the wires away from each other so that casual displacement by the wind or otherwise is prevented. fIlle draw cable i? has one end fixed 'to the iront end of the box as indicated at 18 and the opposite end ixed to the rear end of the boX as indicated at 19. This` draw cable passes overa pulley 2() mounted on the end post 2 land also over a drive pulle'y or wheel 2l mounted on the post l. This wheel 2l is supported by a bracket 22 which is attached to the post l and supports the shaft to which the crank 23 is connected. This shaft may be driven by a small engine or motor where this source of power is available. pulley 2d is provided for this purpose'4 Actuation of the crank, however, will canse the cable 6 to operate'for either` drawing 'the mail box toward the house, or causing it to 'travel on the runway toward the roadside to the post 2. The wires i which forni the runway will l always remain taut since they are rigidly secured to the end ost. srlihe inizerveninN a brackets will properly support the wires 'to prevent sagging ofthe runway at any point in the length thereof. Wear on the cable however, isvfpreve'nted by the rollers l2 and 1l and since these cables will have a tendnasale@ ency to sag it will be readily a parent that they will be properly supporte by the rollers and frictional Contact which would. otherwise cause considerable wear, wlll be.

materially prevented by enigagement with chances in construction and arrangement of parte, material, dimensions and et cetera, as may prove expedient' and all within the scope of the appended claim.

Having thus fully described my invention.

what l claim as new and desire to secure by Letters lDatent, is

A device of the character described coinprisingsupports, brackets iiXed to the supports and including laterally spaced arms having their terminals provided with sleeves, a runway including laterally spaced wires extending through the sleeves, the ends of the wires being fixed to 'the end posts and drawn taut, a mail box havinpr side iianges disposed at an angle with respect to the sides of the box, wheels attached to the ianges and engageable with the wires, and means attached to the niairldbox for drawing the latter over the saidwires.

ln testimony whereoi` l affix my signature in presence of two witnesses,

JSEPH F. TUBER Witnesses:

IF. li/V, Mnsnnn, l?. E. MoCn'roHnoN. 

